Obscure Nebraska panel may hold sway over pipeline

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Congress is scrambling to vote on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, but the project could still end up before an obscure commission in Nebraska that regulates telephones, taxi cabs and grain bins.

The Nebraska Supreme Court is expected to rule within weeks on whether the Nebraska Public Service Commission must first review the pipeline before it can cross the state. Nebraska is one of six states the proposed $5.4 billion pipeline would traverse once completed.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman gave the green light in January 2013.

FILE - In this Oct. 29, 2014 file photo, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman testifies before a legislative committee in Lincoln, Neb. Congress is scrambling to vote on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, but the project could still end up before an obscure commission in Nebraska that regulates telephones, taxi cabs and grain bins. Heineman approved the pipeline project in January 2013 without the panel¿s involvement. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Landowners who challenged the law say a ruling in their favor would force Calgary-based pipeline developer TransCanada to start over in Nebraska. Project supporters say the Nebraska case pertains only to its proposed route, and shouldn't prevent the federal government from approving a permit.

FILE - In this April 19, 2012 file photo, an irrigation pivot remains still along highway 14, several miles near the proposed new route for the Keystone XL pipeline in Neligh, Neb. Congress is scrambling to vote on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, but the project could still end up before an obscure commission in Nebraska that regulates telephones, taxi cabs and grain bins. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

In this March 11, 2013 photo, a sign reading "Stop the Transcanada Pipeline" stands in a field near Bradshaw, Neb., along the Keystone XL pipeline route through the state. Congress is scrambling to vote on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, but the project could still end up before an obscure commission in Nebraska that regulates telephones, taxi cabs and grain bins. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)